Improvement in key-retainers



J. W; JOHNSON. m-

Key Retainers. I

No. 199,447. Patented Jan. 22, 1878 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. W. JOHNSON.

Key Retainers.

No. 199,447 Patented Jan. 22,1878.

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r'LPE1ERs, PHDTKHJTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTION. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT ii OFFICE.

JOHN WILLIA JOHNsON, for CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMP OVE ENT |N KEY-RIETAIVNERS,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 199,447, dated January22, i878; application filed March 28, 1876.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WM. JoHNsoN, a resident of the city ofCincinnati, .Hamilton county, and State of Ohio, have invented cer: tainnewand .useful Improvements in Key-" Retainers, of which the followingis a specification: p

The object of this device is toprevent keys being accidentally detachedfrom the lock,

either by a violent slamming of the door or.v by meddlesome children, orotherwise, whileat the same time the key is atperfect liberty to be usedfor throwing thebolt in either direction.

The retainer is applied to the inner, key-hole plate of a door; andconsists, first, of asingle guard-plate, whose upper end is pivoted tothe aforesaid plate at a suitable distanceabove the key-hole, theguard-plate being provided with.

a locking device consisting of a recessed guard and a screw-threaded pinand nut, as will be more fully described hereinafter. This. guard: plateis long enough to completely close the key-hole, and it is providedwith. a slot concentric with the suspension-pivot. When the key isplaced in the lock, and the pivoted guard-plate allowed to assume itsnormal position, the lower portion of said guard-plate closes thekey-hole so effectually. as to prevent the bit of the keypassing throughthe elongated part of the hole.

The device for locking the guard-plate renders it an impossibility forthe guard-plate, when locked, to be shifted so as to uncover the key-hole, and consequently the proper key cannot be displaced, and a falseone inserted in the lock. 7

A more complex form of my retainer may be constructed by providingthekey-hole plate with two swinging guard-plates slotted from oppositesides, as hereinafter explained. These guard-plates may, when desired,be provided with a locking device, of any suitable kind, the preferredkind being that of my invention, as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, Figurel is a perspective view of the simplest form of retainer, theguard-plate being shown in its normal position and the key not inserted.Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a retainer composed of two guard plates,w'hich guard-plates are shown swung aside to admit the key. Fig.3isaperspective I locking device applied to a single guard-plate, thelatter being swung aside so as to partially uncover the key-hole proper.Fig. 6 repre-' sents the locking, device applied, to a doubleguard-platasaid guard-plate being separated far enough to completelyuncover the key-hole. Figs. 7 and 8 are vertical sections taken, re-

spectively, atthe lines Y Y and Z Z, the guardplate being shown lockedin both of these illustrations, .Fig. 9 is a vertical section throughthe lower portion of the double guard-plate and its accessories, thelockin g device being shown in; its disengaged condition.

Arepresents a portion of a door, to the inside of which is secured akey-hole plate, B, having. the customary eye G and slot 0. Projectingfrom this plate, and in line with the slot 0, is pivot D, from whichdepends a swinging guard-plate, E, having a'notch'orslot, 0, made in itfrom one side, said slot being, preferably, concentric with the point ofsuspension. This guard-plate, from its I slot 0 to its lower end, is,preferably, a blank or imperforate piece of metal, as shown at F.

G is a hook or guard, which maintains the guard-plate in snug, but notclose, contact with the face of the plate B.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 represent a more complex form of retainer, in which anauxiliary guard.- plate, E F, is used in conjunction with the one E.This additional guard-plate is provided with its appropriate slot 0,similar to the one 0, but made from an opposite side of the swingin gmember E.

H represents the stem, and I the bit or web,

of an ordinary key. Whichever form of retainer is used, the action isessentially the same, as the guard-plate or guard-plates must first beswung aside, so as to allow the key to be inserted in the hole 0 c,after which the pivoted member E or E E is allowed to as sume its normalposition.

The slot e allows the guard-plate to swing comparatively free of thestem of the key, and as soon as said guard-plate assumes a verticalposition its blank portion F closes the slot .0 of the key-hole.

In this position it is evident that said imperforate part F of theguard-plate acts as a guard to prevent the bit I of the key passingthrough the slot 0, and consequently the key cannot be accidentallydetached by any slamming of the door. (See Fig. 4.) While the key isthus retained in the lock it is free to be turned in either direction,as the slot e affords ample clearance to prevent friction. To remove thekey it is only necessary to swing the guard-plate E aside far enough toclear the hole O c.

It is evident that the guard-plate or guardplates, together with thekey-hole plate, may be made of any ornamental shape, so as to add to theappearance of the door to which they are applied.

The guard-plate may be pivoted to the plate B at a point below insteadof above the hole 0 c, in which case said swinging member E c F shouldbe made considerably longer, and its lower. end loaded, so as tomaintain it in an erect position; or the guard-plate'may be pivotedeither to the right or left of the key-hole C c, and caused to coversaid hole by a spring or its equivalent device.

In order to lock either or both of the guardplates securely in theirclosed position I use the arrangement of devices shown on the secondsheet of drawings, and by referring to these illustrations it will benoticed that the single guard-plate E has attached near its free end anoutwardly-projecting screw-threaded pin, J, with which is engaged a knobor nut, K, of any appropriate shape. The outer end of this pin is leftnnthreaded, as at j, so as to prevent the nut being disengagedtherefrom. The nnthreaded portion j is the full diameter of 'pin J.

The hook, guard, or brace G is recessed, as at g, to aiford a seat forthe rear end of knob K when the guard-plate is to be looked, as seen inFig. 7

When two guard-plates are to be used with the locking device, the outerguard-plate, E, must be made somewhat shorter than the inner one, E, soas to clear the pin J. (See Fig. 6.)

The free end of this short guard-plate is provided with a recess, L,similar to the one 9,- and it will be readily understood that when thesetwo guard-plates are brought to a vertical position, and thenut Kscrewed back, so as to engage with both of said recesses g and L, theywill then be so securely looked as to prevent them being swung either tothe right or left by any person outside of the door. This lockedcondition of the two guard-plates is shown in Fig. 8. To unlock them,the nut K is screwed outwardly, so as to clear the recesses g and L, asseen in Fig. 9. The guardplates are then frce'to be swung aside fromopposite directions, so as to completely expose the key-hole, asrepresented in Fig. 6.

Although my invention, in so far as the use of a single guard-plate isconcerned, relates more particularly to the means of locking saidguardplate, I'wish it to be distinctly understood that when twoguard-plates are used in accordance with one feature of my invention Ido not limit myself to the employment of any guard or looking deviceswhatever.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of plate B O c, pivot D, swinging guard-plate E,recessed guard G g, screw-threaded pin J, and nut K, for the purposespecified.

2. The combination of plate B O 0, pivot D, swinging guard-plates E E L,screw-threaded pin J, and nut K, as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of'key-hole plate B O c and swinging slottedguard-plates E E, substantially as and for the purposes specified. JOHNWILLIAM JOHNSON.

Attest:

WM. R. FEE, W. S. JOHNS.

